The State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia is going to present John Neumeier’s ballet “Lady of the Camellias” on NOVAT stage 12th and 13th April. These performances will close the Novosibirsk session of the fifth anniversary Trans-Siberian art-festival. Art Director of the festival is represented by an outstanding violin player Vadim Repin. This year the festival includes events in Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, St.-Petersburg, Samara and will continue up to 13th May 2018.
The Novosibirsk ballet admirers for the first time have an opportunity to get acquainted with the work of an outstanding modern choreographer John Neumeier. Maestro first presented “Lady of the Camellias” in 1978 in Stuttgart and since that time reproduced it repeatedly with best ballet companies of the world. As for the choreographer, he considers “Lady of the Camellias” peak of his artistic career.
The ballet premiered on the Bolshoi stage in 2014, and now it’s is the first time the company takes this production on tour. According to Vadim Repin it was pretty hard to bring the company to Novosibirsk: “We made a lot of effort to arrange two shows with 210 people coming from Moscow”. First stars of the Bolshoi Ballet Company will be involved in this production to make a treasured gift for the Novosibirsk audience.
National Artist of Russia, holder of a state award of the Russian Federation Svetlana Zakharova will perform Marguerite Gautier on 12th April. Critics admit the ballerina reveals her profound dramatic acting skill, living through her character’s tragic experience real-life. Armand Duval is to be performed by Denis Rodkin, principal dancer of the Bolshoi Company, who became laureate of Benois de la Danse ballet prize in 2017.
13th April Marguerite will be performed by a principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet Company, laureate of Benois de la Danse 2013 Olga Smirnova. Armand will be presented by a winner of international competitions, principal dancer Artyom Ovcharenko.
The shows on 12th and 13 April will be also featured with principal dancers and lead soloists of the Bolshoi Ballet Company: Eketerina Shipulina, Ruslan Skvortsov, Vitaly Biktimirov, Kristina Kretova, Mikhail Lobukhin, Daria Khokhlova.
The performance will be conducted by maestro Pavel Sorokin. Piano part in the orchestra by Pyotr Chukhnov.
Ballet’s libretto is based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils “La Dame aux Camélias”. According to the stage director the penetrating story of a cynical and down-to-earth woman, suddenly discovering the meaning and the value of true love is relevant both now and ever. Neumeier preferred Chopin’s romantic music for this plot over Verdi’s “La Traviata”. Neumeier draws a parallel between Dumas’s Manon Lescaut and his main female character – Manon becomes a reflection of courtesan Marguerite Gautier.
John Neumeier’s performance is all about emotions, movements of a human soul expressed by a perfect choreography. That’s why the German production designer Jürgen Rose made the ballet’s setting deliberately concise and authentic: following the stage director’s demand all props and interior items were bought at Parisian junk market, while more than 300 refined costumes made exclusively for this production comply the fashion of those times to the fullest extent possible.
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